The choice of cortisol sampling times in early childhood studies varies widely. Given that recommendations on sampling protocols are largely based on adults, the present study aimed to broaden current knowledge by examining how reliably cortisol measures obtained at different daytimes would reveal between-individual differences in toddlers'…

Working memory is an often studied and important psychological construct. The growth of working memory capacity (WMC) in childhood is described as linear. Average adult WMC is estimated as either four or five "chunks." Using latent curve models of data from a measure of digit span backward that was administered longitudinally to a large…

This ethnographic research case study of five early childhood classrooms in rural Appalachia explores how the decline of the coal industry and shift to natural gas fracking impact classroom play spaces in the region. Child development orientations influenced educators' approaches to teaching about the natural world. The children's and teachers'…

The aim of this scoping review was to systematically map and summarise recent peer-reviewed research on children with dysgraphia between 2015 and May 2021. The research included the perspectives of children, carers, and educators. Dysgraphia is a largely unrecognised specific learning disorder (SLD) in writing that manifests as a disability in…

Pronounced developmental progression during the transition to formal schooling can be found in executive functions (EF) and metacognition (MC). However, it is still unclear whether and how EF and MC influence each other during this transition. Previous research with young children suggests that inhibition may be a prerequisite for monitoring…

Caregivers of young children play a significant role through a child's early childhood. External factors such as environment, socio-economic status, and support system, impact children's early development experiences. This study explored how caregivers perceived their role in the early child development of 3-4-year-old children in an…

As children get older, they become better able to discriminate between impossible and improbable statements and they realize that improbable events can occur in reality while impossible ones cannot. However, when children hear about extraordinary events from fictional entities (e.g., popular characters from children's media), they may be more…

Inuit communities in Northern Quebec (Canada) are exposed to environmental contaminants, particularly to mercury, lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Previous studies reported adverse associations between these neurotoxicants and memory performance. Here we aimed to determine the associations of pre- and postnatal exposures to mercury, lead…

Children show marked improvements in executive functioning (EF) between 4 and 7 years of age. In many societies, this time period coincides with the start of formal school education, in which children are required to follow rules in a structured environment, drawing heavily on EF processes such as inhibitory control. This study aimed to…

Infancy is a pivotal time in the development of a human's cognitive ability. There is a lack of research in this area, specifically on mothers and their beliefs about literacy practices and the home learning environment. By utilizing Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework, this study explores the beliefs of mothers and how they impact the infants'…

In the elementary school, children's learning, thinking, making and doing are usually regarded through universalizing and progression-based accounts particularly from child development. Further, within these developmental frames, learning is often considered as a cognitive process that occurs solely within the conscious mind. In this dissertation,…

When children come to a new country and have difficulty communicating, it may be unclear whether they have developmental problems or are simply struggling with a new language. Early identification and treatment of developmental concerns are crucial to garnering the best results for developing an intervention plan and optimizing child outcomes.…

Using a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) approach, the current study evaluated use of the Adolescent Media Project (AMP) as a pedagogical approach within an undergraduate adolescent development course. The AMP divided students into smaller groups (n = 8) in relation to an adolescent themed TV show. Students viewed the first season (or…

Adults' attraction to rare objects has been variously attributed to fundamental biases related to resource availability, self-related needs, or beliefs about social and market forces. The current three studies investigated the scarcity bias in 11- and 14-month-old infants, and 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 129). With slight methodological…

Purpose: We sought to critically analyze and evaluate published evidence regarding feasibility and clinical potential for predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes of the frequency-following responses (FFRs) to speech recordings in neonates (birth to 28 days). Method: A systematic search of MeSH terms in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied…